1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to management of redundant and multi-segment pseudo-wire.
2. Description of Related Art
A packet switched network (PSN), refers to the packet switched networks that existed before the Internet. A virtual leased line or virtual lease line (VLL) is a way to provide Ethernet, frame relay and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) based point to point communication over certain types of networks, including a PSN. A VLL uses psuedo-wire (PW) encapsulation for transporting Ethernet traffic. Thus, in computer networking and telecommunications, a PW is an emulation of a native service over a PSN.
The PW emulates the operation of a “transparent wire” carrying the native service, but this emulation will rarely be perfect. Multi-segment PW, redundant PW, or a combination of multi-segment PW and redundant PW are implemented in many service deployment scenarios. The imperfections inherent in PW emulations of transparent wire carrying the native service mean that management of such scenarios is needed.
The foregoing objects and advantages of the invention are illustrative of those that can be achieved by the various exemplary embodiments and are not intended to be exhaustive or limiting of the possible advantages which can be realized. Thus, these and other objects and advantages of the various exemplary embodiments will be apparent from the description herein or can be learned from practicing the various exemplary embodiments, both as embodied herein or as modified in view of any variation or combination of disclosed exemplary embodiments which may be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the present invention resides in the novel methods, arrangements, combinations and improvements herein shown and described in various exemplary embodiments.